May 13, 2011

Momentum - SD Using it for Baby Long Beach '11

SD goal by the numbers with Coach Em

So let's do the math on baby Long Beach. 54 paddlers divided by 3 powerful boats. Take the quotient over 12 races between 21 adult mixed teams and factor in excitement, fury, and heart over an exponent of X for countless of hours of preparation. Throw up the high and low numbers of the sum and add in the probability of success and multiply by 7 days a week to get the final component. Add these numbers together and divide by three. That's how we did.

"We aren't winning or losing this race today. We did it in practice. We did in land drills. We did it in outside workouts. We did it in cardio. We didn't just show up and decide we wanted to race...Earn it!"

Makiko is SMOKIN'!!

They're actually checkin' out CHALEE!

Whatever "it" was, Coach BK said it right and we simply delivered. The Space Dragons were at it again, this time in local waters to battle it out for local pride and much deserved props at Marine Stadium. With RED, BLUE, andWHITE poised and lined at their respective starts, mysterious smokey fires weren't the only thing blazin' up the LBC.

First up on the agenda--destroy in the 200 meter in a no-settling, no-holding back, no-regrets type sprint to the flags. WHITE boat newbies impressed everyone when we earned coveted spots into the 200M mixed B final, only to get edged out by stout racing of local giants Electric Dragons and LARD red( thanks for the great racing!). SD WHITE has set a high bar for its first tourney showing and now sky's the limit - Let's keep pushing!

SD RED boat came out with a mission to execute, pushing strong with rocket fast finishes earning us a ticket to dance in the mixed A final! The word "intense" isn't even close to describing how closely connected the nail-biter finishes were as we pulled just ahead of raging LARD Black, X-factored X-Generals, and those fast-flying Splashing Flyers. Such effort helped secure a narrow, but well-deserved 1st place win in the mixed A 200M! I've got one word to say to build upon this achievement...MOMENTUM.

SD BLUE

The fruit of our labors--SD BLING, gold and silver

Just as if we were a huge 18-wheeler truck rolling with its brakes blown out, SD momentum continued through the day as Space Dragon hearts thumped as one to carry us into the mixed 500M race sets. Now imagine heats so close and connected that you could hear the pants and breaths of the paddlers in boat next to you as you jockey for rank. Visualize pieces so intense that if you even thought about easing up a single stroke, it could mean the difference between 2nd and 3rd place. Throw all that into the weekend's SD experience and you've got yourself a great dragon boat race and even more impressive results!

"We're fighting for second!"

Speaking of 2nd and 3rd, did I mention that SD BLUE and WHITE duked it out in an all out head-to-head race to the flags with a respective 2-3 finish with a time split of a mere 1/2 a second in the mixed B 500M semis!?

As if that's not already enough action for you, SD RED came 2nd to LARD Black in a straight bench-for-bench battle for position in one of the most exciting heats of the day! With only a mere half second deviation between the boats, it was anybody's race!

So what now? Are we done? Can we pull back the reigns? Do we sit on our haunches and call it good while we're cruising strong with a few great races? The simple answer is HELLZ NO! We've got wind at our back and momentum on our side. Let's KEEP PUSHING THAT WALL and never "get comfortable."

MAD PROPS and THANKS to:

Dr. Chen, the association, & all the volunteers that made this race happen!

Denise, Rod, and others who got in early to coordinate site set-up!

Todos ustedes with equipment such as tents and coolers,
including Esmer, Denise, Robert, and Edie!

Ceez for helping to coordinate equipment logistics,
Great work on your ride at the Tour de Cure!

All who brought yummy somethings for the SD potluck!
Special thanks to BK and James A. for the late water run!!

More special thanks to Step's friend Mike S., Thomas Y. from Apca Dragons, and SD Legend David L. for helping to fill our WHITE boat with mad power and energy!

Shout-out to TINA, JIMMY, and LIZZIE for coming out,
sayin' "HI" and supporting us for baby Long Beach.
Speaking of which, CONGRATS on KIDDO NUMBER 2!!!

...and most importantly YOU, for putting in the work, bringing out the love, representin' the sea 'o BLUE, and making our team the team to look out for! HOLLA!!

Let's go back to the numbers on baby Long Beach as I leave you with this thought. While you can count the fractions of seconds one gains or misses the DUB, recapping baby Long Beach by the numbers won't do what we did justice. Why? Because success is not calculated. Its earned.